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I was diagnosed with pancreas divisum, a condition that is not deadly but causes chronic, severe, unrelenting pain and some on-and-off nausea. In some ways, I am a lucky sufferer of chronic severe pain. My pain is controllable with 2 extended-release opiate pills, and 0-3 immediate release opiate pills for breakthrough pain. If medicated, I… Read more

Ok, so the first thing I need to say is that two weeks ago, I started writing the draft of an article about date rape drugs. I was thinking the topic was narrow enough that I could cover in a brief essay that would not take too much time to write. I had recently done… Read more

﻿ Suppose you have a family member, let’s call her Auntie Ellie, who is a law-abiding citizen who has a medical condition that is not deadly, but does cause severe pain. Suppose another family member, Cousin Rob is in prison for a crime, let’s say he robbed a bank. He was not high at the… Read more

How often have you heard this, “The first step is admitting you have a problem”? This sounds like a perfectly reasonable way to begin the process of addressing a problem, and it is probably understood by the majority of people who hear it, and/or repeat it, to be the first of the famous 12 Steps… Read more

The concept of the Placebo Effect is very much ingrained in our culture. I remember years ago watching an episode of M*A*S*H that included successful use of placebos (especially interesting since “The Powerful Placebo” was published in JAMA in 1955, meaning these Army doctors must have been much ahead of their time, since the… Read more

June 26, 2018 The Federal Drug Administration granted approval for the CBD-containing drug Epidlolex to treat seizures. It would be nice if marijuana was moved off “Schedule 1” to make it easier to test other uses of other active ingredients of marijuana.

The US has been in the business of preventing access to various drugs for over a century now, beginning in 1914 with restrictions on opiates. After decades of outlawing increasing numbers of drugs and enforcement of increasingly harsh penalties, President Nixon named drugs “public enemy number one” and declared the War on Drugs in… Read more

I would like to discuss some numbers I encountered recently in the context of two publications that were supporting the narrative that opiates are a desperately urgent issue for the general American Public. For the first part of this exploration, we will take the reported numbers at face value, momentarily setting aside circumstances that… Read more

Why are Both Parties, GOP & DNC, on the same side of the War on Drugs? Where is the Loyal Opposition? Here’s what I am thinking. The war on drugs has been a boon to both parties – the GOP gets to look tough on crime by defining all recreational drug use is crime,… Read more

The Don’t Punish Pain Rally Saturday April 7 2018 at Olympia Washington was attended by about 2 dozen people. It was a great opportunity to network with other pain patients and learn what efforts have already been going on. Much thanks to all who attended, and to all who were with us in spirit but… Read more